Trump’s astronomical ignorance has finally caught up with him. He seems to have had no idea that firing Comey wouldn’t stop the investigation—nor that a new FBI director wouldn’t dare quash it. In fact, all the firing does is make the investigation untouchable. And Trump’s astronomical narcissism has caught up with him too. He has so little insight into other humans that he simply couldn’t conceive of anyone hating Comey but still defending his right to serve out his term. In Trump’s world, you reward your friends and punish your enemies and that’s that.

And it’s not just Russia. Trump needs to be validated. It still gnaws at him that he lost the popular vote. He wants to prosecute Clinton over the emails. He needs to prosecute Clinton over the emails.

Trump can’t handle the idea that the government isn’t his personal company–he is the antithesis of a ‘little-d’ democrat. Jon Chait (boldface mine):

Trump has demonstrated his inability to tolerate any authority that lies beyond his control. He disputes the right of courts to review and overturn his actions; he regards his power as a vehicle for enriching himself and his family, and recognizes no public right to know even the contours of his self-interest. It is fitting that Trump sent his personal bodyguard to hand-deliver Comey’s letter of termination. He sees the federal government as a whole as personally subordinate to himself, exactly like his business. He would no more tolerate independent legal enforcement investigating his potential misdeeds than he would allow his own private security detail to dig up dirt on him.

There is no longer any serious possibility that he will respect the norms of conduct governing his office. The only questions are how far his fellow Republicans, who control all the power in Washington, will let him go before they stop him, or whether the midterm elections will give Democrats the chance.

Trump is terrified because he is neck deep in Russian money in his businesses, much of which is probably illegitimate–that is, he’s a money launderer.

Don’t underestimate how much damage stupid people can do–and Trump is flawed in such a way that he doesn’t comprehend how people will react. Unfortunately, his advisors are either dim, blinded zealots, or have no political experience (or some combination thereof). The best case scenario is we don’t get out of this unscathed. I don’t want to contemplate worse cases.

One Response to Comey And The Wages Of Narcissism

I’ve always been very, very dubious about the Russia nonsense. It’s mostly been a thrashing exercise in blame-shifting by Beltway Dems desparate to divert attention from their own extraordinary incompetence, and thereby protect their soft, sweet gigs. But Comey’s defenestration makes me wonder what exactly Trump’s trying to cover up. Now you have to wonder if the two Republicans with a speck of integrity can get together with the four Dems with a rudimentary brain and spine, and put an effective investigation together. Our political institutions are mostly rot…